biblethumb - 4. The New Testament

The New Testament.

There are three divisions in the NT.

Narratives. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote about the life of Jesus Christ. These four books are called the Gospels. Luke also wrote Acts, which tells about Jesus' ascension and the "acts" of Jesus' apostles. In other words, Luke and Acts are companion volumes.
Letters. There are 21 letters total. Paul wrote 13 letters, Romans–Philemon. The rest are by various authors.
To hear the 21 Letters pronounced:
Prophecy. The third section has just one book called Revelation. This book is not nearly as mysterious as many make it out to be, but it is definitely difficult to interpret.

Listen to me recite the books of the NT.
Listen to me sing the books of the NT. Warning: Listen to this at your own risk!

Let's focus on memorizing the names of the 21 letters. Let's first divide them up into three sets of three.

Romans–2 Thessalonians were written by Paul to churches. They are arranged from longest to shortest. (For the books with a "1" or a "2" in front them, say "first" or "second" and then the book's name. For example, 1 Corinthians is pronounced "First Corinthians.")
1 Timothy–Philemon were written by Paul to the individuals that these books are named after. (In other words, Timothy received two separate letters from Paul. Titus and Philemon received one each from him.)
The rest are written by the person for whom the book is named.

Hebrews is anonymous. (OK, it's written to Hebrew Christians, not by them.) Some believe Paul wrote this letter, too. (That would put his total count at 14 letters, leaving 7 others.)
James (not an apostle, but the half-brother of Jesus himself) wrote James.
The apostle Peter wrote 1 Peter (say "First Peter") and 2 Peter (say "Second Peter").
The apostle John wrote 1 John (say "First John"), 2 John (say "Second John") and 3 John (say "3 John").
Jude was also a half-brother of Jesus himself.